History[edit]
The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club
under the initiative of Colonel Goda Varma Raja, Consort Prince of HRH
Queen Karthika Thirunal of
TravancoreTravancore Kingdom.[7] Col G.V Raja, a
trained pilot, felt the need an airport to accommodate
TravancoreTravancore in
the aviation map of
IndiaIndia and requested to
TravancoreTravancore Durbar to
initiate the process for establishing an aerodrome. A detailed report
was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard.
In 1935, on royal patronage of H.H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata
Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH.83 Fox Moth
aircraft under command of India's first pilot
Nevill Vintcent carrying
Jamshed Navoroji, a Tata company official, and Kanchi Dwarakadas,
commercial agent of
TravancoreTravancore in Karachi with a special mail from
Viceroy of British India, Lord Willingdon wishing birthday greetings
to the Maharaja.[8]
The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal
Anchal (
TravancoreTravancore Post) to Bombay. In 1938, the Royal Government of
TravancoreTravancore acquired a Dakota as Maharaja's private aircraft and placed
the first squadron of Royal
Indian Air ForceIndian Air Force (Travancore) for
protection of state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the
airstrip was used for domestic flights with construction of a domestic
terminal: T1.
International operations were initiated by
Air IndiaAir India to cities in the
Arabian PeninsulaArabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707. By early 80s,
the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by
service to Male. Later,
SriLankan AirlinesSriLankan Airlines (then Air Lanka) and Air
Maldives (now Maldivian started operations. Followed by Indian
Airlines, that started a service to Sharjah. On 1 January 1991, TIA
was upgraded to an international airport, making it the fifth
international airport of
IndiaIndia after Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai &
Kolkata.
On 1 March 2011, the first flight operated from the new international
terminal. IX 536 (
Air IndiaAir India Express) from Sharjah marked the first
arrival.
Air India ExpressAir India Express operated the first departure to Dubai from
this new terminal. IndianOil Skytanking is the First company which has
introduce to start “Single Man Refuelling” in
IndiaIndia , IOSL started
refuelling operations At
TrivandrumTrivandrum in the year 2016 March.
Terminals[edit]

The domestic terminal (Terminal 1)

There are two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic (except Air India
and Jet Airways) and Terminal 2 for international flights and all
domestic flights of
Air IndiaAir India and Jet Airways. [9] The domestic
terminal has an area of 9,200 m2 (99,000 sq ft) and can
handle 400 passengers at a time. The Terminal 3 (NITB: New
International Terminal Building) and the International Terminal can
handle 1,600 passengers at a time.[10]
The international terminal ground operations are handled by Air India
SATS
AirportAirport Services Pvt. Ltd. and Bhadra International
IndiaIndia Pvt.
Ltd. It is fully air-conditioned with wi-fi facility. The terminal
features spacious lounges, natural lighting with extensive use of
glass roofing and better conveyance facilities for passengers. It has
three baggage carousels and elaborate immigration/customs facilities.
Flemingo, India's first privately owned duty-free operator is managing
the duty-free shop at the international terminal.
The domestic terminal has basic amenities including cafés, a beer and
wine bar, a book-seller, free local calls, phone-recharging
points.[11] Into Plane Services fueling operations handled by
IndianOil Skytanking.
Facilities[edit]

The newly built Terminal 2 has three additional jetways and parking
bays to accommodate 8 aircraft. The terminal is built opposite to the
current terminal across the runway and is closer to the city side. The
terminal, constructed by the AAI and designed by the UK firm,
Pascall+WatsonPascall+Watson architects, is expected to provide impetus to the
development of the IT sector and the tourism industry in the southern
districts of Kerala.
The international terminal covers an area of 35,000 m2
(380,000 sq ft). It is able to handle the passengers of
three
AirbusAirbus A340s and one
Boeing 747Boeing 747 aircraft simultaneously (roughly
1500 passengers).[12] The annual handling capacity of the terminal
will be 1.8 million.
The check-in area has a floor area of 950 m2
(10,200 sq ft) and the arrival area 600 m2
(6,500 sq ft). To enable the passengers to check in at any
counter, a Common Users Terminal Equipment (CUTE) is installed. X-ray
machines are attached to the side of the conveyor belts for faster
clearance of baggage.
The entrance to the terminal is from the Chaka-Eenchakkal road. A
bridge has been built across the Parvathy Puthanar canal to link the
new terminal to the Kazhakuttam-Inchivila NH (National Highway) 47
bypass.[13] The new terminal has a car park area that can accommodate
about 600 cars.
There is a pre paid taxi service counter and foreign exchange(Thomas
Cook India) counter on arrivals area.[14]
There are plans to build a parallel taxiway, an isolation bay, an
aerobridge and an apron in the international terminal, a turning pad,
and expand the security area in the domestic terminal. It costs Rs.130
crore.[15]
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport was included in Ministry of civil aviation
strategic plan for 2010-2015 to upgrade as Category-A airport by
developing to aerodrome CODE 4E/4F, construct parallel runway with
taxiways alongside both runways and so forth.
Expansion[edit]
Further expansion of the airport has been planned with the AAI
demanding 82 acres for the construction of a new domestic terminal and
other related facilities for
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport. The state government
has agreed to acquire 18 acres for the construction of the Domestic
terminal. The AAI is planning to construct a new terminal of around
40,000 square metres, which would spruce up the city airport to a
72,500-square-metre integrated terminal. Paper works, including
drawing of plans, for the new terminal building have already begun at
the AAI headquarters. The plan is to complete the construction of the
new terminal within 18 to 24 months after the state government hands
over the land to the
AirportAirport Authority of India. The AAI plans to have
a three-storey structure attached to the existing terminal. The
elevation of new terminal would be identical to the existing terminal
building.[16]
Cargo operations[edit]
The cargo activities at the
TrivandrumTrivandrumAirportAirport are carried out through
the
KeralaKerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), a government of Kerala
undertaking). The cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a
capacity to import 21000 MT and export 27000 MT per annum. In 2010-11
(up to December 2010), the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT
of export cargo. The KSIE is developing a satellite cargo import
facility on a temporary basis at the NITB terminal for perishable
cargo handling till their final master plan is implemented for
developing a huge cargo warehouse on 15 acres of land adjoining the
NITB. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to
TrivandrumTrivandrum International
AirportAirport (TIA) .[17]
Other operations[edit]
In addition to Civil operations,
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport also caters to IAF
and Coast Guard for their strategical operations.IAF have an exclusive
apron to handle all their operations.
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport also caters
for Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology.The academy has it
own hanger facility at the airport.The hanger facility can accommodate
10 trainer aircraft .[17]
Infrastructure[edit]
Air traffic control[edit]
The air traffic control (ATC) tower is 18 m (59 ft)
tall.There are plans to build a new 50m tall ATC tower for Trivandrum
airport near the new international terminal. The airport has an CAT-1
instrument landing system (ILS), DVOR and distance measuring equipment
(DME). The airport is also equipped with an Mono-pulse Secondary
Surveillance Radar,
Air Route Surveillance Radar and an Airport
Surveillance Radar which allows approach and area control of the
airspace around the airport and nearby air routes.[18][19]
Runway[edit]
TrivandrumTrivandrum International
AirportAirport has one runway, 32/14, 3,400 m
× 45 m (11,155 ft × 148 ft), equipped to
operate any type of aircraft in commercial service other than Airbus
A380.It has a 1,880 m (6,170 ft) long parallel taxiway.[20]
MRO facility[edit]
TrivandrumTrivandrum International
AirportAirport hosts Air India's Narrow body
Maintenance, repair and overhaul unit — MRO consisting of twin
hangars for servicing
Boeing 737Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air
IndiaIndia Express aircraft..The Maintenance Repair Overhaul is set up on
6.07 hectares of land at a cost of Rs. 110 crores it was commissioned
on December 16, 2011.. The maintenance of two aircraft can be
simultaneously done at the two hangars present at the MRO. The
facility is state-of-the-art with 5,000SF of workshop, 10,000SF apron,
electrically operated and vertically moving hangar door system,
warehouse and office space. The Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul
(MRO) facility of
Air IndiaAir India Charters Limited (AICL) at Trivandrum
International
AirportAirport was given permission to carry out the crucial
‘C’ checks of their Boeing 737-800 fleet.[21]
Airlines and destinations[edit]

Security[edit]
TrivandrumTrivandrum International
AirportAirport is listed among the major airports of
India. Its safety and security is handled by the Bureau of Civil
Aviation Security through the Central Industrial Security
Force#
AirportAirport security (CISF). In the past, the airport security was
under the control of airport police (under the state government).
However, following the hijacking of
Indian Airlines Flight 814Indian Airlines Flight 814 in
1999, the airport security was handed over to CISF.
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport
also has advanced security equipment including X-RAY Baggage
inspection (X-BIS), Explosive Trace Detection System (ETDS) and
provision of an In-Line Baggage Screening system; at the NITB,
state-of-the-art Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Flight information
Display System (fids) and Public Address (PA) systems, as well as an
Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) for flight information, are
there for passengers' convenience.[17]
Air traffic management[edit]
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport is one of the major airports in south India. It
plays a major role in the world aviation map, connecting and
controlling about nine international air-routes and eight domestic
air-routes and provides approach control service to eight major and
minor aerodomes. A Terminal Control Area (TMA) is established with a
250 nm lateral limit around
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport and a vertical
limit of ground to 46,000 ft. The ATC also provides approach
control for arriving and departing traffic and is also an Area Control
Centre for over flying aircraft and traffic operating from adjacent
airports like Cochin, Calicut, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy.
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport is also a major training centre for ATCOs at the
induction level as junior executives.The airport on average handles
350 aircraft movement per day including over flying aircraft.[17]
Connectivity[edit]
Road[edit]
TrivandrumTrivandrum international airport is connected to National Highway 66
(NH 66) which connects the airport to the city and other parts.The
National Highway 66 links the airport with the upcoming Vizhinjam
International Seaport .[22]
Buses[edit]
Buses connect
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport to different parts of the city.
Services are mainly operated by the
KeralaKerala State Road Transport
Corporation which connects the airport to East Fort, Kochi, Kollam
etc.[22]
Rail[edit]
The nearest railway station is
Kochuveli railway stationKochuveli railway station which is
about 5 km away and
ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram Central railway station is
about 5.5 km. These railway stations are well connected with
different regions of the country.[22]
Helicopter[edit]
Chipsan Aviation air charter services operating Helitaxi service from
the airport to the various locations.[23]
Taxis[edit]
Pre-paid taxi services are available from both the terminals of
TrivandrumTrivandrum airport.[22] Taxi aggregators Uber and Ola is with in
service area.
See also[edit]

Arya Central School
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Chinmaya Vidyalaya
Christ Nagar School
Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School
Holy Angel's Convent Trivandrum
Kendriya Vidyalaya
Loyola School
Mannam Memorial Residential Higher Secondary School
The Oxford School
Sainik School
St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School
St. Thomas Residential School
TrivandrumTrivandrum International School
VSSC Central School

Higher

College of Engineering,
TrivandrumTrivandrum (CET)
College of Fine Arts Trivandrum
Government Engineering College
Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management
Mahatma Gandhi College
Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology
Marian Engineering College
Mar Ivanios College
Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology
SUT Academy of Medical Sciences
Government Medical College
University College
University of Kerala